The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Kings — Section 137

King;" Porter, He.ndbook, i. pp. 134, 138). four corners [Heh. feet; C]l~ signifies step, The wo.ter wo.s probo.bly brought from Solo- thence foot, e.nd is here used of artificial mon's pools e.t Bethlehem, though "o. feet. These were, no doubt, at the fou-r founte.in of wo.ter exists ,n the city e.nd is comers, and served to re.ise the stand above running unto this de.y, fo.r below the snr- the wheels, so that the foliage, &c., was not fo.ce" (" Our Work in Fe.Jestine," p. 103). hidden] thereof had undersetters [Ileb. Te.citus mentions the f0118 perennis aquae shoulders. " The bearings of the axle" and the puicinae cisternaeque seruandis im- (Gesen.) must be meant. 'l'he bases had four bribus, feet, which apparently terminated in a sor1 Ver. 27.-And he made ten bases [or of socket or fork, into which the axletrees ,tands, nbi::lr;,, from !~!I, erectus stetit. The were inserted] : under the laver were under- description of both the bases e.nd the Ie.vers setters [Heh. the shoulders] molten [or which th6y supported (vers. 27-39) is ex- cast], at the stde or every addition. [Lit., tremely obscure. We know, however, the.t opposite to a man (i.e., each) were wreaths. the be.sea (e.s the ne.me implies) were simply The explane.tion of Keil is that " from the stands or pediments for the le.vers] of feet . . . there ascended shoulder pieces, brass ; four cubits was the length of one which re.n along the outside of the chest and base and four cubits the breadth thereof, reached to the lower part of the basin, which and three cubits the height of it [they was upon the lid of the chest, and, as were rectangular, or box-shaped, six feet shoulders, either supported or helped to square and four and a hall feet high. support it. " He thus understands the Ver. 28.-And the work of the bases was "shoulder" to extend from the foot, or on this manner [Heh. and this the work of axletree, to the bottom of the laver. But the base]: they had borders [n1~1;)r.> (from it seems quite as likely that these shoulders i)O clausit) means strictly encl~sings, i.e., were within the ste.nd ; that they stn.rted from its upper comers, i.e., "from under sid~:, forming the stand. They were p~nel.s, the le.ver 11 (as in the Hebrew), passed because of the borders or ledges :mentioned down along its inner e.ngles, and emerged presently, but this was the accident of their below-the stand mo.y well have had no construction. The tro.nslation " border" bottom-in the shape of feet or forks, gives a totally wrong impression], and the which rested on the axletrees, and sup- borders were between the ledges [Heb. the ported both stand and le.ver. Over age.inst sides wae between the bcrders, i. e., were this internal shoulder-blade or support was enclosed by ledges or frames. placed externally a wreath. But Biihr de- Ver. 29.-And on the borders [panels] spairs of a1Tiving at any just e.nd o.dequo.te that were between the ledges were lions understanding of this arrangement, and, [i.e., figures or bas-reliefs oI lions], oxen, in the absence of drawings, it is perhaps and cherubims [" The lion and the ox are hopeless that we shall ever interpret the the two animal forms which occur most fre- words with certe.inty.] quently in Assyrie.n deooro.tion" (Ro.wlinson). They have also found a place through the Ver. 31.-And the month or it [Heh. oherubim, in the symbolism of Christianity]: his mouth. I incline, with Keil, to think and upon the ledges there was a base above the mouth of the 1,aver just mentioned [i.e., there was a pedestal or stand (l;;i; see pl:;i masc.) is referred to rather tha.n the ver. 31) of some sort for the !aver, upon the stand (Thenius), which would require o. fem. square basis]: and beneath the lions and suffix] within the chapiter [By this we oxen were certain additions [Heh. wreaths, are, perho.ps, to understand e. round om!l- festoons, n:17 (of. Prov. i. 9), corona] made ment, resembling the co.pita! of a pillar, which stood in the centre of the dome- of thin work. [Heb. pensile or hanging shaped covering (see ver. 36) of the stan_d, work, 17ir.> from ,,, descendit ; Vulgate, and on which the !aver rested (so Keil, dependei;tia. It wo;:;id seem that on the Biihr). Rawlinson so.ye," No commento.tor po.nel, beneath the figures of animals, &o., has given a so.tis!aotory explanation of this were sculptured hanging festoons of flowers. passage"] : and above [Heb. upwards] Ver. 30.-And every base had four brazen was a cubit [i.e., tho neck or foot ~f t~e wheels [As the lo.vors were used for washing !aver measured uniformly one cubit, 111 " such things as they offered for burnt width appo.rontly] : bu, the month [Heh. offering 11 (2 Cill'on. iv. 6), and consequently and her mouth, fem. This last-mentioned would require to be contmuo.lly emptied and mouth is probe.bly the mouth of the co.pital refilled, they must of necessity be move- (fem.) The neck or mouth of the I.aver able, so the.t they could be taken, now to would appear to have been fitted into the the sea, or other reservoir, now to the altar], mouth of the crown-sho.ped pedesto.l] we.a Ud plates [Heh. azlea] or brass: and the round after the work of the base [Heh, 184 'l"B:E FIRST BOOK OF K!NGS. [OH. vu. 1-U.